6.1. SR 02-04-2019
Request for Action
To Item Number
Mayor and City Council 6.1
Agenda Section Meeting Date Prepared by
Presentations, Awards, February 4, 2019 Kaylin Clement, Sr. Communications Coordinator
Recognitions
Item Description Reviewed by
Recognize “Mayor for the Day” essay winners. Tina Allard, City Clerk
Reviewed by
Cal Portner, City Administrator
Action Requested
Have Breanna and Avery each read their essays, followed by Mayor Dietz stepping down to present them
with “Mayor for the Day” signs.
Background/Discussion
In late August, the League of Minnesota Cities (LMC) put out a call for submissions in the “Mayor for
the Day” essay contest. The essay challenged kids to think about the variety of services cities provide that
make a community great (parks and recreation, street maintenance, police and fire service, etc.) and to
write about how they’d enhance or improve those programs/services if they were Mayor for a day. The
city promoted the contest via our website, social media channels, and e-newsletter, in addition to
connecting with ISD 728 who distributed the essay details to fourth, fifth and sixth grade students in the
district.
More than 450 fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students submitted “Mayor for the Day” essays to LMC. Of
those, three were published in the January/February 2019 Minnesota Cities magazine and three honorable
mentions were recognized.
Breanna Bode, a sixth grader from VandenBerge Middle School, was one of the three published essays.
Avery Lauder, a sixth grader, also from VandenBerge, was recognized with an honorable mention in the
publication. Of the hundreds of students who submitted essays, two of the six recognized by the LMC in
Minnesota Cities magazine were Elk River students. We are proud of both Avery and Breanna, and invite
them now to share their essays with Mayor and Council about what they would do if they were Mayor for
the day.
Financial Impact
N/A
Attachments
Two winning essays
The Elk River Vision
A welcoming community with revolutionary and spirited resourcefulness, exceptional
service, and community engagement that encourages and inspires prosperity
N:\\Public Bodies\\Agenda Packets\\02-04-2019\\Final\\x6.1 Mayor for the Day Essay Winners.docx
N:\\Public Bodies\\Agenda Packets\\02-04-2019\\Final\\x6.1 Mayor for the Day Essay Winners.docx